Governor Pat McCrory

The North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the North Carolina Military Affairs Commission have unveiled the state’s new Strategic Plan for Supporting and Enhancing North Carolina Military Missions and Installations. The Strategic Plan builds on Governor Pat McCrory’s forward-leaning strategy to ensure North Carolina’s leadership in military preparedness for decades to come. The full report is available on the department’s website at: milvets.nc.gov

Governor McCrory has led numerous successful initiatives to enhance the state’s military value including the recently approved Connect NC bond package, which will allocate $70 million to update the aging infrastructure at National Guard armories and future regional readiness centers. He has also established buffer zones around bases, and implemented initiatives for military families to improve the quality of life for veterans, service members and their families.

“North Carolina’s military community makes an enormous contribution to our country’s national security,” said Governor McCrory. “It is a crucial priority for me and for my administration to protect and support the significant military presence in our state, including the interests of the servicemen and women who call North Carolina home.”

A new report by the NC Military Affairs Commission and the NC Department of Commerce underscores the economic impact of the military to this state.

The report (available at http://www.nccommerce.com/Portals/47/Publications/Industry%20Reports/2015-Economic-Impact-of-the-Military-on-North-Carolina.pdf) is an update and improvement on a prior Department of Commerce report from 2012. The most important new information is the calculation of the military’s impact on the State gross domestic product: $66 billion. One error to note in the report: The report states that “The Fleet Readiness Center East claims to be the largest employer of civilians east of Interstate 95 in North Carolina.” Actually, FRC East is the largest industrial employer east of I-95. There are many other entities that employ more civilians in total, but none who employ more skilled labor and industrial engineers. Some important findings:

• The economic impact model estimates that the military supports roughly 10 percent of North
Carolina’s employment
• The military supports 578,000 jobs in North Carolina, nearly $34 billion in state personal income,
and $66 billion in gross state product
• 386,000 of the total military-supported jobs occur in the private sector
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, Administrative and Waste Management Services,
and Construction are the top three military-supported private industry sectors
• 102,000 active duty military personnel were assigned to units in North Carolina as of June 2015, and
more than 78,000 individuals are projected to leave the military over the next four years
• The North Carolina National Guard has a strength of nearly 12,000, with more than 20,000 in the
Reserves
• More than 20,000 civilian contractors are employed by the Department of Defense and the North
Carolina National Guard in North Carolina
• Department of Defense prime contracting in FY 2014 totaled $2.5 billion, with 81 percent of that being
performed in the South Central and Southeast prosperity zones
• 79 of 100 counties had prime contracting activity in FY 2014
• North Carolina’s active military personnel have in-demand occupational skills which could contribute to
private industries in the state as personnel separate from the military in the future
• North Carolina has a total of 775,000 veterans that reside in every county across the state
• Military veterans in North Carolina received more than $8.2 billion in pensions, medical care

ACT’s commitment to protecting and growing MCAS Cherry Point, FRC East and its civilian enterprises is critical.

The numbers from the report demonstrate the importance of the base to our community and give us even more reason to continue to educate our local residents about the economic impact to our area as well as the importance of MCAS Cherry Point and FRC East to our state and national defense.

If you are interested in having a member from our group give a presentation about ACT and MCAS Cherry Point to your civic organization, please CONTACT US so we can get a date on the calendar!

The mayors of the state’s five military host cities have signed a joint letter to Gov. Pat McCrory requesting $1 million in support.

The cities, including Havelock, would share the money and put it toward the purchase of land to prevent encroachment of the bases as well as toward efforts for improvements to local and regional infrastructure. Money would also be used for partnerships among bases and cities to provide solutions to problems that impact the quality of life around the bases. >>READ MORE

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